Yesterday, I posted about the fruit of the Spirit. What happens when I surrender to God’s presence in my life? Characteristics of the Lord Jesus will become evident in me, expressed in my life toward others, toward myself and affecting how I relate to food, eating and my body.
What is the converse of this? It is legalism. It is outward constraints that attempt to cause certain behavior. It is change from withOUT, rather than change from withIN. It is conforming to outward constraints, rather than embracing a heart change that ultimately can be seen outwardly.
Legalism can have a very subtle influence in our lives. It can be in the slight tinge of “fear” we have about not exercising today, which is failing to realize that if we don’t get a chance to exercise, our bodies will probably just call for less food–eating 0 to 5 on any day will continue the process of bringing us to our natural God-given size. It can be seen in the sense of self-righteousness we feel when we make a choice to have grilled chicken instead of fried. Obviously there is nothing wrong with exercising or with grilled chicken, but do these things, in any way, define us? Or do they define how “good” we feel we have been? If so, that should be a red flare.
Can you think of any ways in the past that you have been duped into the legalism trap relative to food and eating? Feel free to share it with us here.
The HEAL book quotes one woman:
Rather than worrying about calories, carbohydrates, or fat grams, I ask myself if it’s something God is leading me to enjoy and if it’s what my body needs at that moment. I’m now living with freedom that equips me to make wise food choices. Smith and Halliday, HEAL, page 95
This is what we are after…freedom. This is not freedom NOT to care, but freedom TO care with godly discernment and wisdom. We look only to Christ for our righteousness. If no option for grilled chicken is available when we visit a friend’s home, we take an appropriate portion of home-made fried chicken and allow ourselves to be grateful to God for tastes, textures, and wonderful friends. We don’t run home in fear and exercise harder or bypass hunger the next morning to make up for it!
Are there any ways in which you currently see legalism seeping into your life? What can you do to change this?
There are no forbidden foods as we continue on this journey. We may say this, but so very often we betray that we don’t really believe this by trying to “atone” for having something that, in our diet days, we didn’t allow ourselves. Or by allowing ourselves to have a certain “diet food” freely because we tend to view it as “ok, because it is ‘healthy.'” These thoughts betray that we are still caught up in legalism.
In HEAL, if you think back to lesson 2, healthy eating is eating when hungry and stopping when not. It is going to God for all the other reasons we tend to be drawn to food. Healthy eating has more to do with why we eat than the what.
That said, there may be times when you sense in your spirit that something has an ungodly hold on you. Having that certain something in the house, you struggle repeatedly with overindulging. Truthfully, this can be anything. Remember, it isn’t the substance that determines our virtue. Bingeing on carrots is every bit as ungodly as bingeing on Dove chocolate. Only you and the Lord can determine if there is something that, for a season, as an expression of love (not to *win* God’s approval or to *prove* your righteousness!), you offer to Him. You can have the freedom not to have it in your home, but at the same time, realize that doing this doesn’t change the heart. The heart is changed by God. Removing the substance that you find trips you up is an offering to God, but invariably, he is likely to offer you another way to be sure to deal with the underlying heart issue.
Jesus laid down His life for us. Is there anything that He calls us to lay down for a season?
In my case, he definitely wanted me to lay down the bathroom scale. When it is in the house, I use it in a way that doesn’t honor him. I also can’t have Oreo cookies and vanilla ice cream in the house at the same time. I can have one or the other, but not both, as I will have an Oreo cookie milkshake with every hunger (and then some!)!!! So, I choose to lay that down. In the past, I have had seasons where I have laid down this or that…anything that the Lord says has begun to own me. Typically, he lets me know when I am free to have that whatever-it-is in my life again. Gosh, in the non-food realm, I have sensed the Lord lead me NOT to go into the Christian bookstore for a season before! LOL!
Obviously, my ultimate goal is to have a heart given over to the Lord so that I can be in a Christian bookstore and not overspend or to have Oreos and vanilla ice cream in the house and not overindulge!
Prayerfully ponder this question. What is the Lord saying to your heart about if there is something you need to give over to Him for a time? Will you? When? Do you have someone to whom you can be accountable about this?
The Lord definitely led me to this blog tonight. My prayer for our HEAL chat on tuesday was to tell the difference between legalism and NOT legalism and you have just clarified a lot to me…as reading prayerfully. I believe the Lord is nudging me to lay down sweets for a while but I have not done so yet and pray for strength to do so. There are also certain foods such as these special powder donuts my hubby gets me and my son that I eat way too much of…cookie dough, anything I bake which is cookies, cookie bars, muffins, cakes, etc…I will eat them for every hunger and until this week after being shown day 18 in TW book about the teasers, pleasers, and whole body pleasers I have been living in the "freedom" stage of TW!!!! I didn't get it past that really and no wonder I have had NO energy and have been kind of lethargic feeling and not a lot of energy. Praise God for answered prayer here!So anyways, love to hear your thoughts on that. Thanks Heidi for being so honest and I really am enjoying your blog! it is a huge blessing in my life!!
The Lord definitely led me to this blog tonight. My prayer for our HEAL chat on tuesday was to tell the difference between legalism and NOT legalism and you have just clarified a lot to me…as reading prayerfully. I believe the Lord is nudging me to lay down sweets for a while but I have not done so yet and pray for strength to do so. There are also certain foods such as these special powder donuts my hubby gets me and my son that I eat way too much of…cookie dough, anything I bake which is cookies, cookie bars, muffins, cakes, etc…I will eat them for every hunger and until this week after being shown day 18 in TW book about the teasers, pleasers, and whole body pleasers I have been living in the "freedom" stage of TW!!!! I didn't get it past that really and no wonder I have had NO energy and have been kind of lethargic feeling and not a lot of energy. Praise God for answered prayer here!So anyways, love to hear your thoughts on that. Thanks Heidi for being so honest and I really am enjoying your blog! it is a huge blessing in my life!!
Heidi, this really spoke to my heart tonight. I really needed this. I agree, it's not what we eat, it's why? I have really been struggling with diet thoughts, with thinking that if I just went on another diet and lost this extra weight, that life would be better (or whatever the lie is). But I know, that I know, that I know that dieting is NOT the answer. I love the freedom we have in Christ. What you said about how you can't have vanilla ice cream and Oreos in your house at the same time, makes a lot of sense! I had to do that with ice cream for awhile. Thank you for opening up your heart and sharing on your blog! It means so much to me!
Heidi, this really spoke to my heart tonight. I really needed this. I agree, it's not what we eat, it's why? I have really been struggling with diet thoughts, with thinking that if I just went on another diet and lost this extra weight, that life would be better (or whatever the lie is). But I know, that I know, that I know that dieting is NOT the answer. I love the freedom we have in Christ. What you said about how you can't have vanilla ice cream and Oreos in your house at the same time, makes a lot of sense! I had to do that with ice cream for awhile. Thank you for opening up your heart and sharing on your blog! It means so much to me!
For me, I have to be cautious when I say I am going to lay down an entire category of something…like "sweets" or…whatever else (all soda or all caffeine or all anything). Do as the Lord leads you to do, of course, but be cautious that this often sets up the "all or nothing," "black or white" thinking that causes the pendulum swing phenomenon. For me (and this may just be me) it has often resulted in a rebound…not a pleasant one. I feel like the Lord leads me to "shave" one thing at a time out of my life now…typically, anyhow. It doesn't mean he won't lead me differently in the future, or another person differently, of course. Moderation is the goal…for me to be able to exist in a world where holidays mean food, lots of it, sweets everywhere and celebration with food…I have to be able to learn to listen to the whisper of the Spirit and, dare I say it…to obey Him! Oh! This is a tough season for me as he is really taking me to task for all the compromises I make that are, simply but, disobedience! Gosh, I ramble…sorry about that!
For me, I have to be cautious when I say I am going to lay down an entire category of something…like "sweets" or…whatever else (all soda or all caffeine or all anything). Do as the Lord leads you to do, of course, but be cautious that this often sets up the "all or nothing," "black or white" thinking that causes the pendulum swing phenomenon. For me (and this may just be me) it has often resulted in a rebound…not a pleasant one. I feel like the Lord leads me to "shave" one thing at a time out of my life now…typically, anyhow. It doesn't mean he won't lead me differently in the future, or another person differently, of course. Moderation is the goal…for me to be able to exist in a world where holidays mean food, lots of it, sweets everywhere and celebration with food…I have to be able to learn to listen to the whisper of the Spirit and, dare I say it…to obey Him! Oh! This is a tough season for me as he is really taking me to task for all the compromises I make that are, simply but, disobedience! Gosh, I ramble…sorry about that!
Its ok Heidi I like rambling 🙂 I have to say you confirmed something to me regarding sweets. I do not think it was all sweets, I am thinking now it is more the trouble sweets that cause me to binge and right off the top of my head it would be powder donuts my dh and son love…cinnamon and powder sugar…when I get a 0 I will eat 4-5 of them, WOW sad to say that! So today I bought some dove creamy filled milk chocolate mini things and am having one here and there instead of that huge serving of donuts. I am so glad you pointed that out because I really sense now that I had the all or nothing attitude and I was misled thinking to stop all sweets! The first day I considered doing it just one day I went most of the day but still had something sweet and since then have had something sweet each day with more guilt saying I know I should be cutting this out, ack! so so so glad you replied and shared your thoughts!So today is a new day, so many mistakes I keep making that are causing me to think give up but there is no other way…just have to settle that I am imperfect and the Lord is working on me…I CERTAINLY am NOT where I was a year ago! PRaise HIm for that…so He is definitely working although I am not seeing immediate results I can look at my journals and see wow how much He has taught me in just this short year of walking with Him!me rambling too! I am now back on lesson 2 of HEAL going along with the Tuesday class…I am being blessed by this book!I also love the little devotional you mentioned. I have a devotional called Devotions for Nibblers…but haven't read much of it yet. Ok, well have a great day! Look forward to reading more and commenting as we go…
Its ok Heidi I like rambling 🙂 I have to say you confirmed something to me regarding sweets. I do not think it was all sweets, I am thinking now it is more the trouble sweets that cause me to binge and right off the top of my head it would be powder donuts my dh and son love…cinnamon and powder sugar…when I get a 0 I will eat 4-5 of them, WOW sad to say that! So today I bought some dove creamy filled milk chocolate mini things and am having one here and there instead of that huge serving of donuts. I am so glad you pointed that out because I really sense now that I had the all or nothing attitude and I was misled thinking to stop all sweets! The first day I considered doing it just one day I went most of the day but still had something sweet and since then have had something sweet each day with more guilt saying I know I should be cutting this out, ack! so so so glad you replied and shared your thoughts!So today is a new day, so many mistakes I keep making that are causing me to think give up but there is no other way…just have to settle that I am imperfect and the Lord is working on me…I CERTAINLY am NOT where I was a year ago! PRaise HIm for that…so He is definitely working although I am not seeing immediate results I can look at my journals and see wow how much He has taught me in just this short year of walking with Him!me rambling too! I am now back on lesson 2 of HEAL going along with the Tuesday class…I am being blessed by this book!I also love the little devotional you mentioned. I have a devotional called Devotions for Nibblers…but haven't read much of it yet. Ok, well have a great day! Look forward to reading more and commenting as we go…